I enjoyed my trip to the Museum of Book, I’m sure I’ve seen some places that most living in Czech Republic never have 😉 This internship has been great!
My trip to the Museum of Book in the city of Žďár nad Sázavou was my first solo trip outside of Prague for this internship, and getting to this historic museum was an adventure in itself. My lasting impressions of the museum are very positive, however, I just wonder how many people out there plan to make the time and visit this slightly remote location.
How to get there
By checking out the IDOS site for transportation within Czech Republic, there are direct trains from the Prague Main rail station (Praha hlavní nádraží) to the Žďár nad Sázavou train station. It seems that during the weekday, there are 3 departures from Prague (08:00, 10:00, and 12:00) so make sure to get an early start, as the trip one-way is just about 2.5 hours long.
I enjoy riding the older style trains, mainly due to the windows sliding down half way for some…
This has been our favorite museum as of yet during our entire stay in Prague. Not an exaggeration. Alexas and I both were very impressed with not only the permanent collection of authentic statues from the 11th to 19th century, but also the arrangement and interior of the building itself. The feeling we got from standing up and close with these original statues is hard to describe beyond “awe”. It’s so neat to be able to say that we have walked along and seen the detailed features of the original statues from the Charles Bridge in Prague, while most tourists only see the copies that stand in their places. All of the originals in the Lapidarium have been removed from churches, fountains, memorials, etc. in order to preserve their already damaged exteriors. I can appreciate that there are those who are dedicated to preserving their historical pasts, if just for a…
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) is a composer who is largely considered to be the founder of Czech national music. Not too shabby, huh? Please feel free to play this song while you follow the rest of this blog!
This entire museum was a big learning experience for me, and it’s in a great location as well! Closest station is Staroměstská, by either taking Metro A or Trams 17,18 and walking. The building is perched right next to the Charles Bridge, and behind the more visible Klub Lávka. Just walk on past the tables and benches, around the corner, and up the stairway to the ticket office.
Museum entrance located behind Klub Lávka
Bedřich Smetana Museum, front
They are very English friendly here, and there are a lot of informational pamphlets and exhibition guides in other languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Japanese and Dutch). For info on the National Museum website, click
The location of this museum proved a little challenging for us as well, mainly because you need to walk a few streets further past the nearest tram or metro stop. Follow the address on the map, but make sure to take Trams 6, 9, 18, 22, or 23, to stop Národní, or Metro line B to Národní třída station to get as close as you can. Keeping a physical map of Prague on you really helps out when navigating these twisty European streets!
The entrance to Náprstek Museum is tucked away behind another building across the square from the Bethlehem Chapel (Betlémské kaple). You need to walk through a short tunnel, and the signs for the museum’s exhibits are clearly displayed. They have two temporary exhibitions, the Age of Discovery and the Land of Black Pharaohs, and only one permanent collection available, which is the Cultures…
Finding the Ethnographical Museum proved a challenge in itself, especially if you are relying on Google Maps to guide you. Luckily for you, we have forged the way!
First take the green line (Line A) to Mustek, exit towards Vaclavske Namiste, where you will take Tram 9 to stop: Svandovo Divadlo. Once off the tram, turn towards your right and cross the street towards the Petrin Gardens entrance. Keep on walking up the slope (veer left), all the way to the top where the beautiful Villa Kinsky building sits. This building is home to the Ethnographic Czech folk culture exhibition, Life in the Czech Countryside, as well as a temporary exhibit displaying artwork of Czech children.
Entrance to Petrin Gardens from Svandovo Divadlo
The initial walk up through the park was relaxing in that it felt very quiet and slightly secluded from the busy street below…
As a traveler from the United States, I really appreciate touring and experiencing historical and tradition locations of other countries. I suppose it comes from never seeing anything older than 300 years in my own country, but go figure. As our project with the National Museum entails traveling and reviewing different historical locations within the network, it truly allows us the chance to see things beyond the typical tourist locations and routes, and thus broadening our knowledge of this country and region’s history.
One of the very first locations we visited was the Vítkov National Memorial, which is a recently restored building that pays tribute to historically significant war efforts of the Czech Empire, dating back to the 14th century. It was rather fascinating for me, as we had heard some backstory before arriving there, and even took a virtual tour that the National Museum put together (off of their Vítkov…
I visited this cute little corner clothing store a Czech friend recommended to my coworker and I. Módní Mánie Boutique, a small store located nearby the Vítkov Hill, stood out due to it’s poppin’ green storefront colors 😉
Store frontStore front
Open hours: Monday to Friday, 9am – 6:45pm
I’m not sure how accurate the address is, but it’s right at this intersection on the map, off of Jana Želivského, Praha 3. (I’m still trying to get a hang of Czech streets and addresses here…)
I am a huge thrift shopper back in San Francisco, so I was really interested in trying out the fashions here in Prague. Just based off of the looks I see on the street, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Let’s just say that sometimes Czech fashion seems a little bit.. dated. The younger crowd does have some trendy looks, but it’s a little hit or miss for my taste. That just goes to show that trends and tastes really do differ from culture to culture!
The inside of the shop was really brightly colored, and had racks all along the available wall space. Despite there being quite a few shoppers for such a small store, it didn’t seem crowded. Until we had to wait about 15 minutes for the only two changing stalls to open up.
Inside the boutique. Such cute pink walls!
Now I don’t know how often the clothes rotate, but what was in there was bright and ostentatious patterned clothing! A LOT of psychedelic floral and animal prints, so much that at times I thought I was looking through a costume rack for the 70s! That being said, I picked out this adorable spring colored flower dress and a chic white blouse for a night out.
All in all, my friend and I were satisfied with our finds. I am definitely up for perusing some more secondhand clothing once I have the chance. I’ve already noticed quite a few just from looking out of the bus window while getting around 🙂
Went on a business trip to Terezín, about an hour outside of Prague, with Alexas and a few other coworkers to check out the National Museum main depository location. The town is an extension of the semi-famous fortress (turned prison/Nazi ghetto/concentration camp) built in the 18th century by the Austrian empire. There is this intense history that is palpable in the air when walking around. You can take a guided tour (English offered!) to hear more detailed information and history about the place.
It’s one thing to read the Wikipedia page (which I did) and then see the rooms and grounds on which terrible actions occurred. First off, walking up to the small fortress we were greeted with a grim span of graves. Apparently, these were the uncovered bodies of Jewish victims who perished while being held within Terezín and were subsequently thrown into a massive grave along the fortress wall. The really startling punch to the face was reading many graves and realizing that they were only marked with a number. So many buried bodies that they went unnamed, and are only distinguished by their identification numbers..? I can’t even comprehend that kind of treatment and ultimate end to one’s life.
Jewish cemeteryJewish cemetery
There were a few different ticket options, ranging from access to 3 different sites, or specific tour selections. We got the student discount on entrance to the small fortress, and had a well-versed Czech woman guide us in English.
The defining feature of the inner courtyard area that “welcomed” Terezín’s victims was the arched doorway painted with the words, “arbeit macht frei”, or “work makes (you) free”. I suppose this was the very last thing people saw after relinquishing their last personal possessions are marched into the holding area. It felt really strange to be walking through here, listening to the details of what these people went through all while the sun was brightly shining and the sky was brilliantly blue.
“Work makes one free”Original holding areaCreepy atmosphere
There is this just weird atmosphere about the place when walking around. Well, Terezín never had gas chambers or other methods of mass killing, but the amount of mistreatment, malnourishment, and inadequate medical provisions caused the death of about 33,000 people during WWII. Many Czech people we have talked to about this place all have a very somber attitude towards Terezín and its victims. That kind of history doesn’t really wash away, despite the literal floods that came through the area within the past decade.
500m walk through fortress tunnel
Overall, I am glad we had the chance to visit here. It was hauntingly beautiful, but emotionally draining by the end of it. I do appreciate that we have the ability to see this kind of dark past, as much as some people might want to forget. I hate the way the atrocities of war time make me feel, but for that same reason I feel I need to not look the other way. Hopefully I’ll make it out to Poland, Austria, and Germany during this trip to get a more emotionally rounding experience.
Today marks the start of my Panrimo summer internship in Prague, Czech Republic! I’ll be working at the Národní muzeum (National Museum) of Prague for 10 weeks. At the time, all I could think about was how unbelievably lucky I am to have the resources and support to back up my travel urges 😉
My obligatory tourist photo upon arrival in Prague 😉
I was greeted at the airport by Filip, a Prague-native, who was holding up this adorable “Panrimo” sign. I never imagined finally being greeted by one of those people until that moment! I’m glad he was there to help carry my luggage and drive me into town, it sure made things easy on me! Filip took me straight to our 2-bedroom apartment in this complex about 30 minutes from the city center, and it sure is nice! Check out the view from the 7th story balcony:
This is what I see every day!
I met my other Panroamers, (Alexas, Sarah, and Ana) for the first time that night, and it was all we could do to keep our eyes open. We are over jetlag now, but it is always a struggle at first…
2nd Day: June 1st, 2014
After settling in properly, we decided to go on an adventure. Just going out on our own, with little to absolutely NO understanding of Czech, was a challenge. However, I suppose we handled it well. We got pretty mixed up at first, but there tend to be lovely Czech people with enough fluency in English to point us in the right direction. The public transportation here is awesome, especially compared to anything you would find in America. After my great experience riding the Seoul subways in South Korea, I was surprised that Prague’s metro system would be as good, or even better!!
Braving a new world! Can’t read a word..
After getting off down near the center, I just felt in awe walking up and out of the metro and among gorgeous stone buildings. I really think we all had our mouths gaping wide open for the first few hours, at least. It was so easy to get distracted, so we didn’t even make it to Charles Bridge, but just random sights down every which way made our first excursion quite memorable.
Beautiful scenes everywhere I walk in Prague
I think this summer is going to go quite well.
These are the lovely girls I’m spending the summer with
tsacatt 